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Unit IV
Chapter 10
TRANSPORT AND
COMMUNICATION
We use many items in our daily life. From toothpaste to our bed tea, milk, clothes, soaps, fooditems, etc. are required every day. All these canbe purchased from the market. Have you everthought as to how these items are brought fromthe site of production? All the production is
meant for consumption. From the fields andfactory, the produce is brought to the place fromwhere consumers purchase it . It is thetransportation of these items from the site oftheir production to the market which makethem available to the consumer.
We not only use material things like fruits,vegetables, books, clothes, etc. but also useideas, views and messages in our daily life. Doyou know we exchange our views, ideas andmessages from one place to another or oneindividual to another while communicating with
the help of various means?The use of transport and communication
depends upon our need to move things fromplace of their availability to the place of theiruse. Human-beings use various methods tomove goods, commodities, ideas from one placeto another.
The following diagram shows the majormeans of transportation.
LandTransportLandTransportLandTransportLandTransportLandTransport
The pathways and unmetalled roads have beenused for transportation in India since ancienttimes. With the economic and technologicaldevelopment, metalled roads and railways weredeveloped to move large volume of goods and
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114 India : People and Economy
people from one place to another. Ropeways,cableways and pipelines were devised to caterto the demands of transporting specific goodsunder special circumstances.
Road Transport
India has one of the largest road networks inthe world with a total length of 33.1 lakh km(2005). About 85 per cent of passenger and 70
(1961) was introduced to improve theconditions of roads in India. However, roadscontinue to concentrate in and around urbancentres. Rural and remote areas had the leastconnectivity by road.
For the purpose of construction and
maintenance, roads are classified as NationalHighways (NH), State Highways(SH), MajorDistrict Roads and Rural Roads.
per cent of freight traffic are carried by roadsevery year. Road transport is relatively suitablefor shorter distance travel.
Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road
to strengthen and consolidate his empire
from the Indus Valley to the Sonar Valley
in Bengal. This road was renamed the
Grand Trunk (GT) road during the British
period, connecting Calcutta and Peshawar.
At present, it extends from Amritsar to
Kolkata. It is bifurcated into 2 segments :
(a) National Highway(NH)-1 from Delhi to
Amritsar, and (b) NH- 2 from Delhi to Kolkata.
Road transport in modern sense was verylimited in India before World War-II. The firstserious attempt was made in 1943 whenNagpur Plan was drawn. This plan could notbe implemented due to lack of coordinationamong the princely states and British India.After Independence, twenty-year road plan
National Highways
The main roads which are constructed andmaintained by the Central Government are
known as the National Highways. These roadsare meant for inter-state transport andmovement of defence men and material instrategic areas. These also connect the statecapitals, major cities, important ports, railwayjunctions, etc. The length of the National
Highways has increased from 19,700 km in1951 to 65,769 km in 2005. The NationalHighways constitute only two per cent of thetotal road length but carry 40 per cent of theroad traffic. (Table 10.1)
The National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI) was operationalised in 1995. It is anautonomous body under the Ministry ofSurface Transport. It is entrusted with theresponsibility of development, maintenance
and operation of National Highways. This is alsothe apex body to improve the quality of the roadsdesignated as National Highways.
A view of traffic flow in DelhiRain-soaked : Nomads go about their routine during an early morning
downpour in Srinagar. Traffic on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu and 434-km Srinagar-Leh National Highways is suspended as upper reaches ofJ&K saw heavy snowfall while rain lashed the plains.
Fig. 10.1
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Transport and Communication 115
Serial No. Road Category Length in Km % of total road length
1. National Highways 65,769 2
2. State Highways 1,28,000 4
3. Major District Roads 4,70,000 14
4. Rural Rods 2,65,0000 80
Total 33,13,769 100
Table 10.1 : Indian Road Network (2005)
National Highways
Development Projects
NHAI has taken up some major projects in
the country under different phases :
Golden Quadrilateral : It comprises
construction of 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high
density traffic corridor, to connect Indias four
big metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-
Kolkata. With the construction of Golden
Quadrilateral, the time- distance and cost
of movement among the mega cities of India
will be considerably minimised.
North-South and East-West Corridors :
North-South corridor aims at connecting
Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with
Kaniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including
Kochchi-Salem Spur) with 4,076 km long
road. The East-West Corridor has been plannedto connect Silchar in Assam with the port town
of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640 km of
road length.
Rural Roads
These roads are vital for providing links in therural areas. About 80 per cent of the total roadlength in India are categorised as rural roads.There is regional variation in the density of ruralroad because these are influenced by the natureof the terrain?
State Highways
These are constructed and maintained by stategovernments. They join the state capitals withdistrict headquarters and other importanttowns. These roads are connected to theNational Highways. These constitute 4 per centof total road length in the country.
District Roads
These roads are the connecting link betweenDistrict Headquarters and the other importantnodes in the district. They account for 14 percent of the total road length of the country.
Fig. 10.2 : Road constructed under the PradhanMantri Gram Sadak Yojna
Why are the rural roads density very low
in hilly, plateau and forested areas? Why
does the quality of rural roads deteriorate
away from the urban centres?
Other Roads
Other roads include Border Roads andInternational Highways. The Border RoadOrganisation (BRO) was established in May1960 for accelerating economic developmentand strengthening defence preparednessthrough rapid and coordinated improvementof strategically important roads along thenorthern and north-eastern boundary of the
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116 India : People and Economy
Fig. 10.3 : India Density of Roads, 2001
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118 India : People and Economy
Railway Zone Headquarters Earnings from Earnings from % of Passengers % goods % Total earnings
Central Mumbai CST 13.62 8.36 10.07Eastern Kolkata 6.18 3.3 4.24
East Central Hajipur 5.19 7.84 6.98
East Coast Bhubaneswar 2.27 9.69 7.27
Northern New Delhi 15.38 8.94 11.04
North Central Allahabad 6.71 8.76 8.09
North Eastern Gorakhpur 3.44 1.55 2.17
North East Frontier Maligaon (Guwahati) 2.34 2.59 2.51
North Western Jaipur 3.44 3.04 3.17
Southern Chennai 8.74 3.78 5.4
South Central Secunderabad 8.45 8.88 8.74
South Eastern Kolkata 3.23 7.86 6.36
South East Central Bilaspur 1.7 8.91 6.56
South Western Hubli 3.5 2.27 2.67
Western Mumbai (Church Gate) 12.16 7.32 8.9
West Central Jabalpur 3.62 6.91 5.83
Total 100 100 100
Table 10.3 : Indian Railways
Zone-wise income from passengers and goods (Rupees in lakhs)
Source : Statistical Abstract of India, 2004 pg. 243
Which one is the longest National Highway in India?
Why have Bangalore and Hyderabad in the South and
Delhi, Kanpur and Patna in north India have emerged
as important nodes?
Rail Transport
Indian railways network is one of the longest inthe world. It facilitates the movement of bothfreight and passengers and contributes to thegrowth of economy. Mahatma Gandhi said, theIndian railways brought people of diversecultures together to contribute to Indiasfreedom struggle.
Indian Railway was introduced in 1853,when a line was constructed from Bombay toThane covering a distance of 34 km.
Indian Railways is the largest governmentundertaking in the country. The length of IndianRailways network is 63,221 km. Its very largesize puts lots of pressure on a centralisedrailway management system. Thus, in India,the railway system has been divided into sixteen
Table 10.2 : Trends of Freight (in million
tonnes) and Passengers (in millions)Handled by the Indian Railways,
1970-712004-05
Commodities 1970-71 2004-05
Coal 47.9 251.75Raw Material for
Steel Plants 16.1 43.65
Pig Iron and
Finished Steel 6.2 14.66
Iron ore 9.8 26.6
Cement 11 49.3
Food grains 15.1 44.3
Fertilisers 4.7 23.7
Petroleum 8.9 32
Other Goods 48.2 71.4
Total Traffic 167.9 557.39
Passengers Originating 2431 5112
Source : Economic Survey, Govt. of India, 2005-06
zones. Table 10.3 shows the zone-wiseperformance of Indian Railways.
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Transport and Communication 119
Fig. 10.7 : River navigation in the North-east
On the basis of width of the track of Indian
Railways, three categories have been made:
Broad gauge: The distance between rails in
broad gauge is 1.676 metre. The total lengthof broad gauge lines is 46,807 km which
accounts for 74.14 per cent of the total length
of rail routes in the country.
Metre gauge: The distance between rails is
one metre. It runs over 13,290 km covering 21.02
per cent of the total route length.
Narrow gauge: The distance between the rails
in this case is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre.
Nearly 4.94 per cent of the total length of the
Indian Railways is narrow gauge, which
accounts for 3,124 km of route length. It is
generally confined to hilly areas.
Indian Railways has launched extensiveprogramme to convert the metre and narrowgauges to broad gauge. Moreover, steamengines have been replaced by diesel andelectric engines. This step has increased thespeed as well as the haulage capacity.
The replacement of steam engines run bycoal has also improved the environment of thestations.
Metro rail has revolutionlised the urbantransport system in Kolkata and Delhi.
replacement of diesel buses by CNG runvehicles along with introduction of metro is awelcome step towards controlling the airpollution in urban centres.
Areas around towns, raw mate rial
producing areas and of plantations and othercommercial crops, hill stations and cantonmenttowns were well-connected by railways from the
British colonial era. These were mostlydeveloped for the exploitation of resources. Afterthe Independence of the country, railway routes
have been extended to other areas too. The mostsignificant development has been thedevelopment of Konkan Railway along thewestern coast providing a direct link between
Mumbai and Mangalore.Railway continues to remain the main means
of transport for the masses. Railway network is
relatively less dense in the hill states, north easternstates, central parts of India and Rajasthan.
Water TransportWaterways is an important mode of transportfor both passenger and cargo traffic in India. Itis the cheapest means of transport and is mostsuitable for carrying heavy and bulky material.
It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode oftransport. The water transport is of two types(a) inland waterways, and (b) oceanic waterways.
Inland Waterways
It was the chief mode of transport before the
advent of railways. It, however, faced toughcompetition from road and railway transport.Moreover, diversion of river water for irrigation
Konkan Railway
One of the important achievements of Indian
Railways has been the construction of
Konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760 km long
rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra
to Mangalore in Karnataka. It is considered
an engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers,streams, nearly 2000 bridges and 91
tunnels. Asias largest tunnel which is nearly
6.5 km long, also lies on this route. The
states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka
are partners in this undertaking.
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120 India : People and Economy
only 2,000 km are actually used. Similarly, outof 4,300 km of the network of navigable canal,
only 900 km is navigable by mechanised vessels.For the development, maintenance and
regulation of national waterways in the country,the Inland Waterways Authority was set up in
1986. The authority has declared three inland
purposes made them non navigable in large
parts of their courses. India has 14,500 km ofnavigable waterways, contributing about 1% tothe countrys transportation. It comprises
rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. Atpresent, 3,700 km of major rivers are navigable
by mechanised flat bottom vessels, out of which
Fig. 10.8 : Natinal Waterway No.3
Waterways Stretch Specification Date of declaration
NW 1 A l l ah aba d -H a l d i a stretch (1,620 km)
It is one of the most important waterways inIndia, which is navigable by mechanical boats
up to Patna and by ordinary boats up toHaridwar. It is divided into three parts fordevelopmental purposes (i) Haldia-Farakka (560km), (ii) Farakka-Patna (460 km), (iii) Patna-
Allahabad (600 km).
27.10.1986
NW 2 Sadiya-Dhubri stretch
(891 km)
Brahmaputra is navigable by steamers up to
Dibrugarh (1,384 km) which is shared by Indiaand Bangladesh
26.10.1988
NW 3 Kottapuram-Kollamstretch (205 km)
It includes 168 km of west coast canal alongwi th Ch ampa kara canal (23 km ) an d
Udyogmandal canal (14 km).
01.02.1991
Table 10.4 ; National Waterways of India
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Transport and Communication 121
waterways as National Waterways as given inthe table 10.4.
Inland Waterways Authority has alsoidentified ten other inland waterways, which
could be upgraded. The backwaters (Kadal) ofKerala has special significance in Inland
Waterway. Apart from providing cheap meansof transport, they are also attracting largenumber of tourists in Kerala. The famous Nehru
Trophy Boat Race (VALLAMKALI) is also heldin the backwaters.
Oceanic Routes
India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517km, including islands. Twelve major and 185
minor ports provide infrastructural support tothese routes. Oceanic routes play an important
role in the transport sector of Indias economy.Approximately 95 per cent of Indias foreigntrade by volume and 70 per cent by value moves
through ocean routes. Apart from internationaltrade, these are also used for the purpose oftransportation between the islands and the restof the country.
Air Transportation
Air transport is the fastest means of movementfrom one place to the other. It has reduced
distances by minimising the travel time. It isvery essential for a vast country like India,where distances are large and the terrain and
climatic conditions are diverse.Air transport in India made a beginning
in 1911 when airmail operation commencedover a little distance of 10 km between
Allahabad and Naini. But its real developmenttook place in post-Independent period. TheAirport Authority of India is responsible for
providing safe, efficient air traffic andaeronautical communication services in theIndian Air Space. The authority manages 126
airports including 11 international, 86 domesticand 29 civil enclaves at defence air fields.
The air transport in India is managed bytwo corporations, Air India and Indian Airlines
after nationalisation. Now many privatecompanies have also started passenger services.
Air India
Air India provides International Air Services forboth passengers and cargo traffic. It connectsall the continents of the world through its
services. In 2005, it carried 12.2 millionpassengers and 4.8 lakh metric tonnes of cargo.About 52 per cent of the total air traffic was
handled only at Mumbai and Delhi airports.
History of Indian Airlines
1911 Air transport in India was launched between Allahabad and Naini.
1947 Air transport was provided by four major companies namely Indian National Airways, Tata
Sons Limited, Air Services of India and Deccan Airways.
1951 Four more companies
joined the services, Bharat
Airways, Himalayan Aviation
Limited, Airways India and Kalinga
Airlines.
1953 Air transport was
nationalised and two Corporations,
Air India International and Indian
Airlines were formed. Now Indian
Airlines is known as Indian.
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The countrys largest state-owned domestic
carrier, Indian Airlines dropped the word
Airlines from its name and is known as
Indian w.e.f. December 8, 2005. The new
brand name Indian now appears on both
sides of the fuselage. The logo on the
orange tail depicting IA has also been
changed. It has been replaced by a new
logo which is a partly visible blue wheel and
is inspired by the Sun Temple at Konark
(Orissa), symbolising timeless motion,
convergence and divergence. It also
embodies strength as well as trust that has
stood the test of time.
In 2005, domestic movement involved24.3 million passengers and 20 lakh metrictonnes of cargo.
Pawan Hans is the helicopter serviceoperating in hilly areas and is widely used bytourists in north-eastern sector.
In addition, Pawan Hans Limited mainlyprovides helicopter services to petroleum sectorand for tourism.
Open Sky Policy
To help the Indian exporters and make their
export more competitive, the government hadintroduced an Open Sky Policy for cargo in
April 1992. Under this policy, foreign airlines
or association of exporters can bring any
freighters to the country.
Oil and Gas PipelinesOil and Gas PipelinesOil and Gas PipelinesOil and Gas PipelinesOil and Gas Pipelines
Pipelines are the most convenient and efficientmode of transporting liquids and gases overlong distances. Even solids can also betransported by pipelines after converting theminto slurry. Oil India Limited (OIL) under theadministrative set up of the Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Gas is engaged in theexploration, production and transportation ofcrude oil and natural gas. It was incorporatedin 1959 as a company. Asias first cross countrypipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was
constructed by OIL from Naharkatiya oilfieldin Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar. It wasfurther extended up to Kanpur in 1966.Another extensive network of pipelines has beenconstructed in the western region of India ofwhich Ankleshwar -Koyali, Mumbai High-
Koyali and Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ)are most important. Recently, a 1256 km longpipeline connecting Salaya (Gujarat) withMathura (U.P.) has been constructed. It suppliescrude oil from Gujarat to Punjab (Jalandhar)via Mathura. OIL is in the process ofconstructing of 660 km long pipeline fromNumaligarh to Siliguri.
Communication NetworksCommunication NetworksCommunication NetworksCommunication NetworksCommunication Networks
Human beings have evolved different methodsof communication over time. In earlier times,
the messages were delivered by beating thedrum or hollow tree trunks, giving indicationsthrough smoke or fire or with the help of fastrunners. Horses, camels, dogs, birds and otheranimals were also used to send messages.Initially, the means of communication were alsothe means of transportation. Invention of post-office, telegraph, printing press, telephone,satellite, etc has made the communication muchfaster and easier. Development in the field ofscience and technology has significantlycontributed in bringing about revolution in the
field of communication.People use different modes of
communication to convey the messages. On thebasis of scale and quality, the mode ofcommunication can be divided into followingcategories :
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Transport and Communication 123
Personal Communication System
Among all the personal communication systeminternet is the most effective and advanced one. Itis widely used in urban areas. It enables the userto establish direct contact through e-mail to getaccess to the world of knowledge and information.It is increasingly used for e-commerce andcarrying out money transactions. The internet islike a huge central warehouse of data, withdetailed information on various items. Thenetwork through internet and e-mail provides anefficient access to information at a comparativelylow cost. It enables us with the basic facilities ofdirect communication. You might have noticedthe proliferation of cyber cafes in urban areas.
Mass Communication System
Radio
Radio broadcasting started in India in 1923 bythe Radio Club of Bombay. Since then, it gainedimmense popularity and changed the socio-cultural life of people. Within no time, it made aplace in every household of the country.Government took this opportunity and broughtthis popular mode of communication under itscontrol in 1930 under the Indian BroadcastingSystem. It was changed to All India Radio in1936 and to Akashwani in 1957.
All India Radio broadcasts a variety ofprogrammes related to information, educationand entertainment. Special news bulletins arealso broadcast at specific occasions like sessionof parliament and state legislatures.
Television (T.V.)
Television broadcasting has emerged as themost effective audio-visual medium fordisseminating information and educatingmasses. Initially, the T.V. services were limited
only to the National Capital where it began in1959. After 1972, several other centres becameoperational. In 1976, TV was delinked from AllIndia Radio (AIR) and got a separate identityas Doordarshan (DD). After INSAT-IA (NationalTelevision-DD1) became operational, Common
National Programmes (CNP) were started for theentire network and its services were extendedto the backward and remote rural areas.
Satellite Communication
Satellites are mode of communication inthemselves as well as they regulate the use of othermeans of communication. However, use of satellitein getting a continuous and synoptic view oflarger area has made satellite communication veryvital for the country due to the economic andstrategic reasons. Satellite images can be usedfor the weather forecast, monitoring of naturalcalamities, surveillance of border areas, etc.
On the basis of configuration and purposes,satellite system in India can be grouped into two:Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) andIndian Remote Sensing Satellite System (IRS). TheINSAT, which was established in 1983,is a multi-purpose satellite system for telecommunication,meteorological observation and for various otherdata and programmes.
The IRS sate llite system becameoperational with the launching of IRS-IA inMarch 1988 from Vaikanour in Russia. Indiahas also developed her own Launching VehiclePSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). Thesesatellites collect data in several spectral bandsand transmit them to the ground stations forvarious uses. The National Remote SensingAgency (NRSA) at Hyderabad provides facilitiesfor acquisition of data and its processing. Theseare very useful in the management of naturalresources.
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EXERCISES
1 . Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) In how many zones has the Indian Railways system been divided?
(a) 9 (c) 16
(b) 12 (d) 14
(ii) Which one of the following is the longest highway of India?
(a) N.H.-1 (c) N.H.-7
(b) N.H.-6 (d) N.H.-8
(iii) On which river and between which two places does the National Water
Way No. 1 lie?
(a) The Brahmaputra, Sadiya-Dhubri(b) The Ganga, Haldia-Allahabad
(c) West Coast Canal, Kottapuram to Kollam
(iv) In which of the following year, the first radio programme was broadcast?
(a) 1911 (c) 1927
(b) 1936 (d) 1923
2 . Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Which activity does transportation convey? Name three major modes oftransportation.
(ii) Discuss advantages and disadvantages of pipeline transportation.
(iii) What do you mean by communication?
(iv) Discuss the contribution of Air India and Indian in the air transport ofIndia.
3 . Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Which are the chief means of transportation in India? Discuss the factorsaffecting their development.
(ii) Give a detailed account of the development of railways in India andhighlight their importance.
(iii) Describe the role of roads in the economic development of India.
Project
Find out the facilities that Indian Railways provide to the passengers.
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